They Don't Know About Us

New and Old Friends

I saw his eyes widen, "Whoa.... Nicole?" He asked. I nodded, happily, "I would've never thought I'd see you again. When was the last time we talked?"

"I can't even remember..." Chase mumbled.

"Well, it's so great to see you again," I said. Chase smiled, "You know this is the first time I've seen you in person talking."

"Hmm..." I thought out loud, "I guess you're right. How have you been all these years?"

"Well, pretty good, I graduated high school last year," Chase told me, while he took a seat in the chair beside me, "Then, I worked so I could raise enough money to go here. I had gotten a scholarship, but it still wasn't enough money. So, this year I was able to come here."

"Wow, you had to come all the way from America," I said. Chase nodded, "Yeah, it is quite a distance away from here. So, what about you? What have you been doing since we last saw each other?"

I bit my lip, how in the world can I tell him everything, "U-Um, well, I don't think I'll even be able to tell you everything... There's quite a lot."

"Yeah.... My little sister keeps up on One Direction news, and tells me absolutely everything," Chase replied. I giggled, "Haha, you're almost like a directioner."

"I wouldn't say that," Chase chuckled.

"So, Chase, are you eating with anyone at lunch?" I asked him, politely. He shook his head, "Not that I know of."

"Want to come eat with me and a couple of my friends?" I asked him. Chase smiled, "Sure, that sounds great."

Soon, the professor called the class to order, and the class began.
*


I finished my morning classes, and headed off to the courtyard to meet Evan, Chase, and Marie. I walked through the crowded hallways, trying to avoid bumping into people. I found my way over to the courtyard, and met Evan.

"Hey," I greeted him, and walked over, "The others here yet?"

Evan shook his head, "No, Marie hasn't arrived yet."

"Oh, I forgot to tell you, I invited someone else to join us," I told Evan.

"AW YOU ALREADY MADE FRIENDS!" Evan loudly exclaimed. I gave him a look that told him to shut up, "Now I see how you and Marie are cousins...."

Evan chuckled, "So, who is this mystery person?"

"Well, actually, I knew him-" I began, but he interrupted, "A guy?!"

I frowned, "Yeah.... Why are you so concerned?"

"You shouldn't be hanging out with guys, you're only a child!" He exclaimed. I rolled my eyes, "Evan, stop acting like Louis..."

"Who's Louis?" Evan asked. I sighed, "Someone needs to do their One Direction research. Louis is one of the members in the band. He is like extremely spazzy all the time."

"He reminds me of Marie," Evan replied. I shook my head, "No, Louis is more insane and perverted."

Evan frowned. I just shook my hand, as to say never mind. Evan shrugged, "Oh, look Marie's here," Evan pointed over at Marie who was happily walking over to us. She looked overly happy, like usual.

"Hey guys!" She happily exclaimed when she reached us. I waved my hand, "Hey, Marie."

"So, where are we going for lunch?" Marie asked. I shrugged, "I don't know, where do you wanna go?"

"Well, my next class starts in an hour, so it can't take to long," Marie explained, "Why don't we just pick up McDonald's and eat it in the courtyard?"

"Sounds good to me," Evan replied. They were about to leave, but I stopped them, "Wait, I have someone else coming."

"Who is it?" Marie asked, curiously. I was about to answer when I saw Chase coming. I motioned for him to come over. He walked over to us.

"Wait, so the guy was Chase?" Evan asked, "You could've told me that before acting all freaked out about you being friends with random guys."

"You know Chase?" I asked. Evan nodded, "Yeah, we're on the University's football team."

"Small world I guess," I replied.

"Wait, didn't you say you already knew Chase?" Evan asked. I nodded, "Yeah, I met him while I was on tour with One Direction. He saved me from some angry fans."

"Yeah... And, one of them was my sister," Chase added in. Evan laughed, "Well, your sister is a little insane. No offense or anything."

Chase shrugged, "None taken. I already know she's crazy."

"So, who has a car that can take us to get food?" Marie asked us. Evan raised up his hand, "I do. Just follow me."

We walked over to the parking lot, and got into Evan's car. We all piled in. Evan was in the driver's seat and Chase was in the passenger's seat. Marie and I sat in the back. Marie grimaced while she examined the messy inside of the car, "Evan, you really need to clean up your car...."

"Eh, too much work," Evan replied. Marie frowned, "But, then maybe you could breath in here."

"Stop complaining, you're getting a free ride," Evan answered. Marie shrugged, "Hey, just giving you some helpful advice, Evan."

I could see Evan rolling his eyes in the mirror, causing me to giggle. Evan drove over to the drive-through in McDonalds. We all ordered, and drove back to the campus. We walked back over to the courtyard, and sat at a bench. We divided out the food, and started to eat.

"Hey, did Nicole ever tell you the story of the time we got caught in a fire?" Evan asked Marie. Marie frowned, "It was you in the fire with her?" Evan nodded, "Yep that was me."

"How did you end up in a fire with Nicole?" Marie asked Evan.

"Well, I had called Nicole the day prior to the event, because I had finally regained contact with her," Evan told her, "The next day was the death anniversary of her Mom and Josh. We decided to go to their graves together. After that, we went on a walk. We found ourselves getting lost, but then realized we weren't lost. We were now in front of Nicole's old house. I convinced her to go inside, even though she didn't want to. That was a bad decision. We walked around the house, and soon heard a noise. Her grandfather had locked us in, and set the place on fire. I was having an asthma attack from the smoke, and Nicole had gotten me out. She ended up worse off then me."

"Wow... Quite a story..." Marie mumbled. Chase joined in, "So, does that kind of thing happen to you normally?" Chase asked. I nodded, "Pretty much."

"She's a target for disaster," Marie told Chase, "Just a few months ago she had gotten infected from stitches she got from getting stabbed. Then, some stalker guy came in and shot her with a shot that made her pass out. And, while she was passed out, he cut her with a knife."

Chase's eyes widened at Marie's story. I quickly interrupted, "U-Um, well, it is sort of true.... The scars on my arms, legs, and cheeks are from that."

I could feel Chase's eyes staring at my scars. Then, his eyes fell to my wrists, "What about your wrists?"

I quickly turned my wrists around, so no one could see them, "That's nothing," I quickly muttered. Chase understood that I didn't want to talk about it, so he dropped the subject. But, I'm pretty sure he knows exactly what they were. We grew silent as we ate our lunch. Soon, we had to split up so we could go to our next classes.
*


I arrived in my next class right before it was time to begin. I saw an open seat beside some guy. I quickly walked over, and tapped his shoulder, "Um, excuse me, but can I sit beside you?"

He turned around so I could see him. He had dark brown eyes and spiked up brown hair. He was wearing jeans and a navy blue sweatshirt.

"Oh, sure you can sit here," He replied. I smiled, and quietly thanked him. I placed my bag against the side of my seat, and sat down. There was a moment of silence, and he turned to me again, "Sorry, I forgot to introduce myself, I'm Ashton, Ashton Harrison."

I smiled at him, "Nice to meet you. I'm Nicole Everense."

I could see Ashton looking confused for a moment, but shook it off.

"Is something wrong?" I asked him. Ashton shook his head, "No, I just thought that you're name sounded familiar."

"Oh, well, I've written a novel before," I replied, "And, I'm dating Niall Horan."

"You mean Niall Horan as in the one blond guy in that boy band?" Ashton asked. I don't think there are many guys who know of One Direction. I nodded, "Yeah, him."

"Okay, that's where I've heard of you," He replied, "Well, I guess I know a celebrity."

"Well, I'm not really a celebrity," I replied.

"You're more famous than me, that's all I know," Ashton joked. I giggled, "I guess so..."

Soon, class began, and we had to be quiet.
*


Once class ended, Ashton spoke to me, "I know this may sound weird, but is it okay if we sit by each other again tomorrow?" Ashton asked, "I'm new here, and don't really know anyone..."

"Sure that's fine with me," I replied, "See you tomorrow, Ashton."

"Bye," Ashton replied, as I left.